


b'shert

by stellarmads



Series: beautiful words/IT [3]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Christmas Time, M/M, Soulmates AU, ben is very briefly mentioned, holidays in general, mothers are mentioned too but heck them, this is just pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 08:39:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12429066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarmads/pseuds/stellarmads
Summary: b’shert: (n.) lit. “destiny”; referring to the seeking of a person who will complement you and whom you will complement perfectly.





	b'shert

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nicehcuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicehcuse/gifts).



> this is another challenge for ari and i! mine's a little late :( so i'll probably be double posting. I honestly don't know where the Yule vibes came from, I'm honestly so hyped for Samhain. But this turned out cute anyways. this also hasn't been proofread and i'm sorry.

Bill had long ago given up on finding his soulmate. 

At age thirteen, it seemed like a lifetime since he had learned, wide-eyed and on the edge of his seat, about soulmates, back in kindergarten. Soulmates, who were supposed to be the magical companion, always understand you, always be there for you. 

Most kids in Derry, Maine had already found their soulmates. Bill wasn’t really sure how that even worked. The world was so big, how could they know for sure? To him it seemed like they were just doing it for attention. That was the logical conclusion at least. 

He had stopped trying to look for his soulmate, and he was better for it. Life was a lot less confusing when you stopped reading into every little crush you had. 

\----

He didn’t want to be here. They were at the store, his mom shopping for another set of Christmas lights since Georgie had gotten a little too excited playing with his toy plane and ended up dragging an entire string of lights straight off the tree. Bill had spent way too long picking glass out of his little brother’s feet, having to sit on his legs to keep him still. 

His mom had insisted he come to the store with her. She’d been doing that a lot lately. Dragging him out of the house whenever she had the excuse. Bill had a sneaking suspicion she wanted him to meet new people (his soulmate). A few hushed whispers had been going around about he was one of the last unmatched kid in Derry. Bill knew that wasn’t true, there was lots of unmatched kids in Derry. He wasn’t sure why the rumor even started, or why his mother was listening to it. He wasn’t even a freshman yet! Statistically, you didn’t find your soulmate until your late twenties. 

Now he’s sulking by a display of a blow up Frosty the Snowman, watching his mother fuss over what length string to get. 

This is stupid. He’s not going to meet his soulmate at the local grocery store. He scuffs his shoe a little, scowling, turning his head to glance when the bell above the entrance jingles. 

A woman wrapped up tightly in a bright red coat hurries in, snowflakes already melting into dark crimson patches on the fabric. Bill is more focused on the boy that follows her through the door. 

It’s the new kid that Bill has seen in the back of his English class. His eyes are normally downturned, focused on the floor in front of him, just as they are now. Snow sticks to the curls on his head, and Bill sees a small cap. He faintly remembers a girl named Molly saying he was Jewish. 

“Stan, wait by the door if you’re going to sulk.” The woman snaps, already marching down the one of the aisles. Bill already finds her unpleasant. He watches Stan stiffly turn to head a little down the side of the store, turning to press his back against the wall, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

Bill decides if they’re both going to stand there looking like bad displays, they might as well do it together. He approaches, Stan’s gaze flitting to him before back down the aisle. 

“Hi. I’m B-bill. We share English t-together.” 

Stan finally lets his gaze settle fully on Bill. Bill thinks faintly that he has the prettiest eyes. The pretty hazel reflects the Christmas lights in the display beside them, and something else entirely. It’s the same sensation he gets reading his favorite books, and Bill thinks he’d like to feel like this forever.

“I know. You did the reading right before winter break.” His voice is even prettier. Bill wonders if he’s ever found someone’s voice pretty before. 

He flushes a bright red at the comment and stares at the floor. “It wasn’t re-really a reading. I just made a m-mess of the w-words.” 

“Because you were nervous.” 

Bill looks back up. Stan’s eyes are gentle, gentle like when Georgie had listened to Bill explain why he talked so funny, gentle like when his best friend Ben had first helped him up off the ground after Bowers pushed him. It feels safe, not like his mother’s sad eyes, or his father’s disappointed and guarded ones. “Y-yeah.”

The snow has melted in Stan’s curls, making them frizz out a bit. Bill wants to run his hand through them. 

“I could help you practice.” Bill’s eyes go wide at the offer. “At lunch or after school.” 

“Y-yeah.” It’s not so much his stutter that catches him off guard, but the offer, and the warm feeling it puts in his stomach. “That w-would be nice. Thanks.” 

Stan gets a strange look across his face and looks away. It’s quiet for minute, Bill Crosby crooning White Christmas over the store speakers. 

“Bill! Are you ready?” His mother is loud and right behind him, making him jump and stumble back into Frosty. He doesn’t have the quick reflexes to catch himself, but a hand is on his arm in an instant, steadying him. He blushes, gaze going to meet Stan’s again. His eyes are still that confusing, mesmerizing reflection of light and feeling and Bill feels like his world has shifted and righted. Righted and placed itself directly by the boy in front of him. 

Bill doesn’t know a lot about soulmates, but he knows what this is. And from the glimmering look in Stan’s eyes, he knows too. He offers a small smile, and Stan smiles back, an expression that makes him look even prettier. Bill’s heart hammers. 

“See you after break?” Stan says, and Bill doesn’t want to ever leave this spot, right between an array of dizzying lights and a slightly deflated snowman. Right next to his soulmate. 

“Bill?” His mother calls. Bill turns reluctantly, looking into those eyes one more time. 

“See you after break.” 

He allows himself to be pulled back into the cold, swirling white weather, eyes trained on the curly head of hair in the window as his mother drives him back down the street.


End file.
